DVD Packaging - Questions & Answers

[Dbone]

I started this thread so we can be informed of how DVDs are packaged before we go out and buy them. It's a bummer buying a boxset with a crappy layout when you could just buy single releases with regular amaray cases (they look more uniform on a shelf)

Example - Master of Horror Season 1 Box Set
As soon as I found out that the Mausoleum Box contained paper sleeves as cases I decided against it and bought Volumes 1 and 2 in digipacks. As much as I HATE digipacks I dislike paper sleeves even more. I know I can just print my own covers but that can become time consuming, not to mention how expensive f*ckin' ink is.

So I will start of the list with-

The Sergio Leone Anthology: I know the boxset is a foldout digi, but what about the single releases?

[bigdaddyhorse]

Alien Quadrilogy. Box is massive digipack that will cover most tables and then some when fully folded out. Single movies are nice 2 disc digi's.

[dwatts]

The R2 packaging for the Alien set was much better.

[bigdaddyhorse]

The R2 packaging for the Alien set was much better.

You speaking of that fly "Alien Head" LE, or just the normal cases?
I just busted out the measuring tape...
The R1 is 63 and 1/2 inches (slightly over that, but not in the mood for math right now). That's taller than my old ex-girlfriend who was 5'3".:lol: :lol: :lol:

[dwatts]

No - just the standard box set release. It was a "book" type, rather than that awful fold out thing.

[Dbone]

Alien Quadrilogy (is that even a word?) was one of the worst digipacks. You have to unfold it about a 1/2 mile before you can get a disc out. When it is unfolded in it's entirety it is the length of my coffee table. Plus the "special bonus disc" was complete bullocks (i'm not British, is that in the right context?), they gave us a disc full of trailers that we've seen before.

[Dbone]

Bad Taste (limited edition, Anchor Bay) was another digipac that was made very cheaply. It broke when I fisrt bought it so i returned it for another copy. The next copy also broke soon after opening it, I returned it again. I still have not opened the third copy out of fear it will break again (not that it's an oscar-worthy movie, but hey, nobody likes broken DVD cases).

[SaviniFan]

The new Ichi the Killer bloodbag packaging is the worst nightmare I have ever come across since buying DVDs. You have to literally fight with all your might to get the DVDs out of the bag. The DVDs are held in with a death grip. If there is one thing I try to avoid at all costs it is getting fingerprints and scratches on my DVDs. I failed with this attempt.

Garbage packaging.

[Ptflea2]

Alien Quadrilogy (is that even a word?) was one of the worst digipacks. You have to unfold it about a 1/2 mile before you can get a disc out. When it is unfolded in it's entirety it is the length of my coffee table. Plus the "special bonus disc" was complete bullocks (i'm not British, is that in the right context?), they gave us a disc full of trailers that we've seen before.


Wow, a lot of bitching and crying going around on how dvd's are packaged. Give me a break. I woke up this morning worrying about my mortgage getting paid, not how much of a burden my Alien Quadrilogy set is to unfold. Man Dbone, those are some trials and tribulations you're going trough my friend.

[SaviniFan]

I doubt anyone here is considering it a life stopping event and I'm sure we all have priorities in life that are much higher than this. That said, I think this could be an informative thread regarding future DVD purchases.

[Vlachio]

I doubt anyone here is considering it a life stopping event and I'm sure we all have priorities in life that are much higher than this. That said, I think this could be an informative thread regarding future DVD purchases.

:lol: yeah!

[_pi_]

Alien Quadrilogy (is that even a word?)

Nope, that is certainly not a word. It's an abortion of two words (not even from the same language) being thrown together to create something "cool".

I know most people probably don't even care, but that term really REALLY irritates me.

[Ash J. Williams]

The correct term would be "Tetralogy," I believe.

That being said, I love special packaging. I didn't mind the plastic sleeves that hold the Evil Dead, Book of the Dead discs, because they went the extra mile to create something special, recreating fantastic art and putting it in a package so much cooler on a shelf than a sideways centimeter of plastic with a title on it.

Also, when would you ever need to unfold the Quadrilogy all the way? Odds are you're not watching more than one movie at the same time, so folding out both ends is really something to do to show people the ridiculousness of it. Otherwise, know what you're looking for and grab it.

The packaging on Army of Darkness: The Boomstick Edition pisses me off now that I own it, but in the store it looked damn cool. I later discovered that that was because it was taken from bits and pieces of an incredible poster for the film, by an Italian artist named Sciotti, I believe. The poster, in all its splendid glory, is eying me from the wall, but the butchered version of it on the Boomstick Edition, with the faux-epic digital font pasted on it and the crappy white interior with two bland discs labeled "Theatrical," and "Director's Cut," along with a slip ad for the bullshit Fistful of Boomstick game, just cheapened the whole package.

At least it's worth tons of moneys now.

[Dbone]

I doubt anyone here is considering it a life stopping event and I'm sure we all have priorities in life that are much higher than this. That said, I think this could be an informative thread regarding future DVD purchases.

:lol: yeah!

Right you are my friends! After all this IS Horrordvds.com. I just wanted to start a thread that some of us could benefit from. I never said this is top priority.

[17thJuggalo]

Here's some random goofy gripes that I have about some of my DVD packaging by just glancing over at my collection:

- The Bava Box Set Volume 1's slim line disk fall out as soon as you pick up the box.

- The Dawn of the Dead Ultimate Edition is always a pain in the ass to fold back together once its completely folded out.

- Don't turn your MOH Season One boxset upside down or all the DVDs in it will fall out of their sleeves and bump the top of the case.

[wago70]

Alien Quadrilogy. Box is massive digipack that will cover most tables and then some when fully folded out. Single movies are nice 2 disc digi's.

Mine is falling apart already. Two of the plastic disc holders have already popped off and the rest are all mis-aligned. It's going in the trash. Still looking for an empty Alien Head/Holder. :)

[X-human]

Bad Taste (limited edition, Anchor Bay) was another digipac that was made very cheaply. It broke when I fisrt bought it so i returned it for another copy. The next copy also broke soon after opening it, I returned it again. I still have not opened the third copy out of fear it will break again (not that it's an oscar-worthy movie, but hey, nobody likes broken DVD cases).

Mines held together for many years, I just used it not too recently and it was still in perfect working order.

[Katatonia]

The Flash Gordon R1 re-release (the transfer easily bests the R2) from Universal.

Crappy digipak, with a disc hub that you don't even want to push. The first one was easily broken just trying to get the damned disc out. I can only imagine how many returns Universal has gotten with this one.

[Vlachio]

The Flash Gordon R1 re-release (the transfer easily bests the R2) from Universal.

Crappy digipak, with a disc hub that you don't even want to push. The first one was easily broken just trying to get the damned disc out. I can only imagine how many returns Universal has gotten with this one.

Yeah I saw this at Target packaging looks like crap.:fire:

[dcrw6]

Does anyone know what the new boxset for Classic Media's Godzilla titles look like? I held off from buying all of the sweet looking single releases because they said the box would have exclusive stuff. But now, there's nothing exclusive about it, save for getting the last two titles before their single release. So if the boxset looks shitty, then I'll just get the singles.

[JW77]

http://www.rixgrafix.com/index_299.htm for anyone in need of a new Alien Quadrilogy case/cover. (Ric also some really nice custom covers for the various Star Trek series, Babylon 5, and others.)

[bigdaddyhorse]

Does anyone know what the new boxset for Classic Media's Godzilla titles look like? I held off from buying all of the sweet looking single releases because they said the box would have exclusive stuff. But now, there's nothing exclusive about it, save for getting the last two titles before their single release. So if the boxset looks shitty, then I'll just get the singles.

Here ya go. (http://www.tohokingdom.com/news/2007/10-14_cm_collection.htm) We'll have to see what's inside the box, if this has the cool single digipacks, that's pretty sweet looking and will be a good deal at $50-60. If it's like Alien Quad, I'm happy I've been buying the singles.

[wago70]

Thanks, JW77!!! I'm all over that!

[dcrw6]

Here ya go. (http://www.tohokingdom.com/news/2007/10-14_cm_collection.htm) We'll have to see what's inside the box, if this has the cool single digipacks, that's pretty sweet looking and will be a good deal at $50-60. If it's like Alien Quad, I'm happy I've been buying the singles.


Thank you. The box looks decent, but I'm also hoping that it'll have the same single digipacks. They looked really nice and I'm sure using their old stock would be cheaper than making a whole new setup, so I think there's a chance.

[Vlachio]

Here ya go. (http://www.tohokingdom.com/news/2007/10-14_cm_collection.htm) We'll have to see what's inside the box, if this has the cool single digipacks, that's pretty sweet looking and will be a good deal at $50-60. If it's like Alien Quad, I'm happy I've been buying the singles.

WOW you never stop amazing me on here. You have a knack for finding stuff daddyyo. That box set is sure to become a collectors item in a few years.

[Agent Z]

The Flash Gordon R1 re-release (the transfer easily bests the R2) from Universal.

Really? The R2 I have (the Silver Anniversary Edition) looks damn near flawless on my setup.

I'll keep an eye (or two) out for some side-by-side comparisons online, cause you're the first person I've heard mention such a discrepancy between the two editions.

[spawningblue]

Packages don't bug me too much. I have no problems with the Alien set, or Evil Dead Book of the Dead collections. But there was box set that i saw recently which turned me away from buying it.

The new Family Guy box set, the party set or whatever that has all 5 seasons. Comes with a bunch of party stuff, cards, poker chips, ect. The main reason I was thinking of grabbing it was because it came with a bonus disc that you could only get in this set, with deleted scenes and what not. Then I saw how the discs came. They come in a black CD carrying case, all the seasons. No box sets, just all in one zippered up case. I think it's a lot better to have them all in boxes, as opposed to a cheap carrying case, so I did not buy it. Kind of disappointing but hopefully they will offer that bonus disc in another set down the road.

[HoldenMcNeil]

You guys want to talk about bad dvd packaging, now I know ths is a dvd thread but the halo 3 limited edition packaging is the worst. The little nob holding the disc is so small, just flipping the packaging over and the disc will fall out. Sucks that my discs came scratched, but just wanted to chime in with that.

[Katatonia]

Really? The R2 I have (the Silver Anniversary Edition) looks damn near flawless on my setup.

I'll keep an eye (or two) out for some side-by-side comparisons online, cause you're the first person I've heard mention such a discrepancy between the two editions.

I own that same R2 DVD as well, and the R1 transfer is much improved being not as bright and sharper. The colors also appear richer. Check these comparisons: http://www.dvdactive.com/reviews/dvd/flash-gordon.html

The only bad thing is that the R1 disc does not have the DTS track, but the Dolby 5.1 track is still quite good.

[Agent Z]

I own that same R2 DVD as well, and the R1 transfer is much improved being not as bright and sharper. The colors also appear richer. Check these comparisons: http://www.dvdactive.com/reviews/dvd/flash-gordon.html

The only bad thing is that the R1 disc does not have the DTS track, but the Dolby 5.1 track is still quite good.

Hmmm, thanks for the link!

I'm not so sold on "upgrading" just yet, as even the review kinda concedes that the picture is only slightly better....(although the caps look more than "slightly better" to me)...along with missing the extras from the Silver Anniversary Edition.

If the SOTU edition wasn't so expensive, then this might be an easier decision.

I think I'll wait for a price drop on the R1.

Thanks for the heads-up! :)

[Fumi]

I just buy extra DVD boxes, put the disks in there, get on the computer and print up some nice labels for them. Depending on how fancy you want to get, you can even scan the cover art off the box or download the movie poster off the net, then stick it in a word processing document. Art on the front, title and volume number on the spine, episode list on the back. Usually takes me two trips through the printer because the lettering on the spine has to go sideways. Then I take the crappy original packaging and stick it in a drawer someplace.